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Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoMike Blake | REUTERSSuzuki plans to stop selling new cars in the United States, including at this car dealership in National City, Calif., and will concentrate instead on its more-successful motorcycles.

Suzuki plans to stop selling new cars in the United States, part of a restructuring that the
company says will allow it to focus on other divisions, such as motorcycles.

“They had become pretty uncompetitive in the market as far as new-car product was concerned,”
said Keith Dennis, president of Dennis Automotive, which sold the Suzuki brand at Dennis Imports on
the North Side until two years ago.

The region’s only remaining Suzuki franchise is Bobb Suzuki on W. Broad Street. A message left
at the dealership was not returned.

Suzuki “intends to work within its current U.S. automotive dealer network to help structure a
smooth transition from new-automobile sales to exclusively parts and service operations, or, in
some instances, an orderly wind-down of dealership operations,” the company said in a statement
issued late Monday.

The dealers will sell their remaining inventory and all warranties will be honored, the company
said. No timetable was given. Some dealers, including Dennis Imports, remain official providers of
Suzuki warranty service, even though they no longer sell the brand.

Suzuki, based in Japan, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in a California court.
The filing is by American Suzuki Motor Corp., a subsidiary based in the state.

The company said it intends to focus on sales of its other products, which include motorcycles,
all-terrain vehicles, watercraft and marine engines.

“The realignment is intended to better position (Suzuki) for long-term success and is a return
to the company’s roots in the U.S. market, which began with motorcycles and has grown to include
ATV and marine products,” the company said.

Suzuki’s auto division has sold 21,188 new vehicles in the first 10 months of this year, down 5
percent from last year. Only Saab and Isuzu have lower sales among the companies listed.

The company began selling cars in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Market share never exceeded 1
percent, peaking in 2008 at 0.6 percent and falling to 0.2 percent last year. Sales and
market-share figures are from Ward’s Auto.

In central Ohio, dealers sold 39 new Suzukis in the first nine months of this year, according to
Autoviewonline.com. That makes Suzuki the 30th-most popular model by sales, near the bottom of the
list.

The company tried to build a niche by selling affordable, four-wheel-drive vehicles, Dennis
said.

“For whatever reason, it just never caught on,” Dennis said. He sold the brand for about five
years and now focuses on the Hyundai and Kia brands, which have been much more successful.